


Shaken not Stirred

by Raiya



Category: Along with the Gods: The last 49 days, 신과함께 | Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017)
Genre: AU, Detective Gangrim, M/M, Private investigator Suhong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25068028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raiya/pseuds/Raiya
Summary: His colleagues had decided that Gang-rim's all-time bad mood was due to his not existent love life and tricked him into a profile to find a partner.The platform was specialized in blind dates because according to them Gangrim’s face on photos waseven grimmer than in real life.Whatever they wanted to express with that.5 times that blind date failed completely and one time they finally managed.
Relationships: Gang Rim/Kim Su Hong
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	Shaken not Stirred

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andaniellight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andaniellight/gifts), [kabutocat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kabutocat/gifts).



> So I got this idea because of that post on twitter with HJW looking at watches and KDW being at an art gallery.
> 
> Wanted to try the 5 times failed and 1 time thing because I haven't yet before.  
> It was supposed to be very short, then I decided to add some more plot that intended x,D
> 
> For Pegs and An :D
> 
> _Just for better understanding the text messages.  
>  SC is SourCandy  
> JB is James Bob aka Gangrim_
> 
> _SH is Suhong_  
>  GR is Gangrim
> 
> Enjoy <3

Gangrim sighed and rubbed his temples like he always did after a conversation with Suhong.

Suhong who was, unfortunately, the favorite private investigator of head prosecutor Yeomra.  
However this little jerk did that.Yeomra was not known for taking favorites, he was rather known for being very strict and rule-following.  
Suhong was none of that.

Deciding he earned a break, Gangrim checked his phone, Deok-chun and Haewonmak his colleagues (Deok-chun was doing an internship for now) had decided that his all-time bad mood was due to his not existent love life and tricked him into a profile to find a partner. 

The platform was specialized in blind dates because according to them Gangrim’s face on photos was _even grimmer than in real life._ Whatever they wanted to express with that. 

Only because Gangrim was not used to laugh so much - they joked all the time he was not even able to anymore because his laugh-muscles had regressed - did not mean he needed someone else in his life that told him to smile some more.

Before he was able to delete it again though, he had received a message from SourCandy.

_SC - I might sound sour but you can be sure I’ll make your mouth water. -_

And something about the awkwardness of this message got Gangrim to answer, then their small talk turned into a conversation, a quite interesting conversation. 

When he made a sound that could be almost described as an amused huff the whole office around him froze.

Haewonmak’s smirk held for days.

Gangrim had been writing with the stranger, for two weeks now and they decided to meet.

This evening at 8 pm to be exact, Gangrim looked at the clock _6 pm enough time to get home and ready without a rush._

Stretching he got up and was just about to put on his jacket when chaos broke loose.  
Some asshole decided to use exactly this day to threaten them about a bomb alarm at the central station. 

Around midnight they tracked the caller down and found out it was fake.

Wonderful.

Thanks to the stress they were in he did not even let his date know about it.

Luckily his blind date took it lightly.  
_  
SC - Don’t worry, at least I know now you’re a cop. -_

_JB - Is that a problem? -_

_SC - Not at all, I like being handcuffed. —  
_

Gangrim did not blush or was flustered. _Never._  
His face was only red from the exhaustion of running around and trying to avoid an explosion.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They planned their second date a week after on Gangrim’s free day. Sour Candy told him he normally should have a day off too even though his working hours were not set and he had to be flexible. The detective was wondering if he maybe was a waiter, he had not asked him about his profession yet because Sour Candy had not brought it up either.

For their second date they wanted to go to an art exhibition that took place at the town’s biggest art gallery because Sour Candy was a big fan of modern art. Gangrim had not been to many exhibitions yet, his job kept him too busy to do so and he had no one to go there anyway.

Sour Candy had suggested an orange shirt to recognize each other. Not exactly Gang-rim’s color but he got one either way.  
At 10 minutes before 8 pm, Gang-rim was waiting at the entrance hall where they planned to meet, he had arrived a little earlier and was looking around nervously.

Checking his phone every minute only made things worse because every time it felt like ten and he was embarrassed about being nervous like a teenager all over again. When it turned eight his heart started to beat faster which was odd, he did not even know SourCandy properly yet they had only been chatting.  
By five minutes after eight he started to get on his tiptoes and scan the crowd of people to find anyone wearing an orange shirt. Surprisingly but also disappointingly there was none.

Ten minutes after eight he checked his phone if there were any new messages. Nothing. He sent a message himself but the status was still unread when he checked again ten minutes after.

At half-past eight Gangrim decided to have a look inside in case he missed SourCandy earlier and the other was already inside.

Walking around he ignored the art pieces and looked for anyone with an orange shirt. The few he found all were either female or together with a partner. Except that one guy but Gangrim knew instantly when he approached that this was not SourCandy at all.

Checking his phone again he saw that the message was still unread. 

Gangrim sighed, maybe that was payback for the last date where he did not show up. 

He decided to at least have a look at some of the objects but could not really find the headspace to enjoy them (if there was something that would have been interesting for him).

When he got outside there was a cold breeze and he closed his jacket. 

Gangrim stepped down the stairs slowly, steps heavy and walked around the corner of the building to head to his train station. When he rounded it someone bumped into him, he quickly grabbed the stranger who was smaller than him to steady him until he realized who it was.  
Suhong was looking up at him, arms holding his jacket wrapped tightly around his body.

The detective instantly let go of him and stepped back.

„Suhong.“

„Gangrim.“

Both were either happy to see each other.

„What you’re doing out here old man, suddenly interested in arts?“ Suhong’s tone of voice told Gangrim, form years of experience that the other man was upset. 

„Why do you think I am? We’re standing in front of the town’s biggest art gallery, where else would you have been at this time?“

„I could simply have been taking a walk.“  
„You think I’m stupid? I know you live at the other side of the town. No one takes an annoying one hour and twenty minutes ride with 3 different trains to take a walk.“

Gangrim raised his eyebrows at Suhong.

„How do you know I take that long and need to change two times?“

It was hard to say with the bad lightning around them but Gangrim could have sworn the investigator’s cheeks turned darker.

„I know everything about the people I work with.“ Suhong looked at the ground and kicked at it, making an annoying sound of his shoes sipping over the concrete.

„Ah really, but how would you have known how long it takes me to come here, it is totally different from my work route?“

„Fine, I’m not living that far away from you.“

„Why are you walking away from the station then.“

„Maybe because I just arrived?“

Gangrim crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, because it was obvious Suhong was not telling the truth, he looked as if he had been having a tiring evening already not as if he had just gotten here. „At ten at night? For what? Take a walk? Oh wait you said that would be ridiculous so far from home.“

Suhong rolled his eyes at him.  
„It’s none of your business. I’m on my way if the great detective allows me to. It’s enough that I will have to see you at work again. I don’t need to see you in my free time.“

_Annoying prick._

„Neither do I.“  
Gang-rim pushed the anger back down and turned away to walk to the train station. When Suhong hurriedly made his way past him and his jacket flew open Gang-rim thought he saw orange. But maybe it was just his mind playing tricks because he had been looking for orange shirts the whole night.

SourCandy wrote much later at night, apologizing for forgetting to load his phone battery and finding out that there were actually two different art exhibitions in the building. The entrances each on the other side of it.  
Gangrim who woke up by the sound of the message notification read through it in the daze of still being mostly asleep and answered he was at the one with the modern sculptures and objects. 

Sour Candy had been at the pop-culture paintings.  
Around 10 he heard there was a second exhibition and walked over there but it had been exactly the time Gangrim left.

To avoid another complication like that they set their next date at a simple restaurant downtown.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

„How was your free day and more important how was your date?“ Haewonmak asked him grinning broadly the next day.

„We missed each other because of bad planning.“ Gangrim stated dryly while reading through a report about a new case Yeomra was taking to trial.

„You did what? How?“ 

Gangrim ignored his noisy colleague.

„We need to work through this case, it’s important to not make any mistakes the lawyers are very skilled and use everything they can, including missteps of the police or prosecutors to get their client out. Go help Deok-chun with looking through the client's old files. Including the names on the lists, they are men working for him, this guy is a gang or even gang boss.“

Haewonmak sucked in a breath and clicked his tongue.  
„So it is an actual important case.“ 

„Yes, so get moving.“

„That probably means Suhong will work with us too right?“

Gangrim groaned at the mention of the name and he remembered meeting him yesterday, something scratched at the back of his mind about stumbling into him but he brushed it off as another starting headache by the mentioning of that name.

Suhong arrived not even two hours later, his usual messy hair in a short military-style cut, wearing cargo pants and an unusually tight shirt with a dark denim jacket. Even his shoulders were more straight.  
Gangrim realized he was staring when Suhong raised an eyebrow and aggressively asked him, „What?!“

„You don’t look like a junkie.“ Gang-rim blurted out, still surprised by the others knew appearance.

„I’m undercover, trying to get into Un’s gang, they prefer ex militaries. And not a junkie but someone other people ignore, which is useful when you don’t want them to notice you.“  
Suhong pondered. 

Gang-rim had to admit he had a point there with his current style he would get much more attention before, people would definitely not ignore him. The detective's eyes flickered to the waistband of his pants where the shirt was neatly tucked in.  
The only reason he was so fixed on it was it being an usual sight compared to the normally oversized wide shirts Suhong wore. Nothing else, he was not questioning how it would be to hold him.

„You may look like it but can you act like it.“ Gang-rim got himself together and remembered this was Suhong. The guy with the worst posture he knew.

Suhong shot him an annoyed glance. „Obviously good enough because I’m in for the hit tomorrow.“

The investigator filled them in what he knew about the hit, which was almost nothing because the gang did not trust him yet which meant they would inform him about everything right before it happened. Suhong promised Gang-rim to let them know when he found out more but stressed that it could be after the coup. Yeomra was informed too.

Gangrim did not like that Suhong already made all these steps alone with the help of some guy he knew but was unwilling to tell the name of - something about keeping his informants anonymous, of course.  
It meant that the investigator went into that territory alone and they could also have easily decided to get rid of him if they found him untrustworthy.

Not that Gangrim was worried about Suhong he just did not want to have that extra work. 

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The advantage off working with a private investigator was, that he was not a member of the police nor any other institution of the state. Meaning, as long as they made no mistakes, Suhong getting into the gang was nothing that would backfire to the head prosecutor if he got caught.

Lawyers loved to blame undercover agents of taken initiative so that a crime would happen meaning that their clients would not have done anything if they would have not been encouraged by the undercover man.

Having Suhong, a private investigator as an undercover agent had its good and its bad sides.

First of all, if someone asked Suhong was never involved.  
It might not be completely legal but with Gang-rim’s team investigating it was easy to make sure he officially was not in the reports. 

The risk was mostly on Suhong alone though because he had to go in being on his own. Officially.

Unofficially Gangrim and his team did their best to help him out if the situation went down. The last time and happily only time they had to intervene, their reports stated that they just so happened to be in the area because of an anonymous caller.

Gang-rim’s phone work phone chimed and he picked up, turning the speaker up for Haewonmak to hear too.  
Suhong got into the gang thanks to the hit being successful. They robbed a bank at night to get some money for the big coupe. The one Yeomra was interested in.

Gang-rim noted down the bank to inform them because according to Suhong it was possible they had not even noticed. The gang put a lot of afford in to make sure it would not be noted too soon.

The head prosecutor had allowed Suhong to go with whatever they planed as long as the ground lines they set would not be overstepped. Gang-rim did not know what those rules exactly were and had no intention to ask.  
Yeomra’s goal was to let the gang go through with most of their preparations so that they were able to find out what they were planning, stopping it and hopefully catch all men of Un.  
Because experience speaking, the more men you get the higher is the chance of one of them spilling the beans.

The easiest method was to threaten them with rumors that they have talked and put them in the same prison with their boss.  
Not exactly the nicest way to do it but highly effective on those that were already nervous from the beginning. Crucial for this to work was finding the ones their boss was already suspicious off and who might were also unhappy with their boss. More unhappy than afraid.

The gang planned their next big move already the following day. Buying everything for the big coup that will be happening within the next few days, at least Suhong was assuming so.  
Suhong called - when he was able to sneak out for a few minutes - to inform Gang-rim the gang wanted to get everything done as fast as possible so that the police would not even have the chance to track them down and interfere.  
Since their boss was in prison they knew that the police would keep an eye on every step of the members they knew, but they were counting on bureaucratic gears being to slow to catch up on them especially if they acted quickly.

Little did they know that they were already tracked.

Unfortunately that meant that Gangrim’s date - he looked at the clock that already showed 7 pm - would have to be canceled again.

He took his phone out to write SourCandy when it lit up with a new message.

_  
SC - Hey JamesBob, as much as I would have loved to drink a shaken not stirred cocktail with you I have to cancel our plans for today. I’m really sorry but work. -_

_JB - Don’t worry I just wanted to write you that I have to cancel because of work too. How about Sunday instead, we could watch a movie? -_

Gang-rim has not been to the movie theater for years but it seemed less likely to fail, he got the idea from Haewonmak talking about being at the theater on the weekend. And after the canceled last dates he really wanted to be safe.

_  
SC - Have no plans yet so Sunday it is. Looking forward to it. Movie sounds great I know a cinema that shows unannounced movies on Sunday at 8 pm you go in without knowing which one it is. Seems perfect for a blind date right? :-) I’ll send you the address later—_

_JB - Thank you, see you Sunday-_

Gangrim hoped that it would finally work out but the odds were not the best.

He sighed and walked back inside the office in case Suhong sent an emergency signal or a message.

„No date again?“Haewonmak asked him and Gangrim sat down in his chair heavily.

„Slowly I’m thinking it’s not meant to be.“

„Don’t worry, it’s just this case. When we’re done with it you can have all the dates you want without being interrupted.“

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Everything went well - at least Suhong did not call them or send a signal. 

It was three am when Gang-rim finally could pack his things and walk home, having received the ok from the investigator that he was back ‚home‘ - most likely a rented replacement flat now that he had more contact with the gang.

After five days there was still no news. Suhong told them that the gang would contact him as soon as they had a plan and Gang-rim noticed that he was getting impatient.  
Suhong was only in as a helper, not directly into the gang, but he still needed to meet up with them regularly and live in the flat he had booked for that.

The investigator also did not come to the office any longer in case they were watching him or placed a tracker somewhere on him so Haewonmak had to go out and meet him, being also undercover. 

According to Haewonmak Suhong thought that something was going on, smaller preparations but only the inner circle knew about it.  
The gang was surprisingly small, Suhong told them the inner circle consisted only out of five people and everyone else were helpers just like him.

They kept the risk low by only letting them know about their plans right before they took action and with the use of throw away phones.  
Taking in their security measurements Gang-rim was wondering how it could even happen that they got their boss. But then they got him because his hired driver was nervous, due to it being his first day. He did not even know about the body in the trunk.  
Sometimes hiring different people all the time did not work out if you hired the wrong ones.

But Gang-rim was happy for that mistake.

Haewonmak stretched and leaned back.

„Why are you still here? Aren’t you having a date later? It’s enough if one of us is in the office, go home. Suhong already mentioned there will be nothing today because the inner circle is only doing some preparations.“

One and a half-hour later, Gang-rim was surprisingly on the way to his date.  
Maybe this time it would work out for once.

He got into the subway and typed a quick message that he was on his way and smiled when he received a text back.

At the next stop quite a lot people got on the train, Gang-rim ignored them as usual but a familiar voice made him look up.

„Gang-rim.“

„Suhong.“

The other was wearing black pants and the jacket from last time, closed, only a shimmer of orange under the collar showing.  
Gang-rim furrowed his brow but Suhong was getting his attention quickly.

„What are you doing? Out for a ‚walk‘ again?“

The investigator’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

„What are you doing here? Aren’t you living somewhere else?“

„Why, can’t I visit this area anymore?“„You can’t seriously think that it was a good idea, you might be dense but you’re not stupid.“  
Gang-rim hissed at him, trying to be as quiet as possible. He was earnestly confused because Suhong was not the one to lead anyone to his real home just because he got impatient.  
„Had to pick something up, not that it is any of your concern.“ Suhong looked out of the window over Gang-rim’s head and shifted. 

„I think different, it is very much my concern.“

Suhong only laughed, „Why, are you concerned about something I do or are you worried about me?“

Gang-rim only glared back at him. Suhong knew very well why but they were not supposed to talk about any of it here, surrounded by who knows which people.

„The only thing I’m concerned about is having to see your face again while…“  
A sudden stop of the train interrupted Gang-rim and purely on instinct, he reached out to grab Suhong’s waist, who was not holding on to anything, and pulled him close to steady him, unfortunately, that also meant that his arm was pushed painfully against the pole next to him, Suhong’s weight pressing against it even further.

The person right to him also fell against Gang-rim, luckily most of the standing people were less careless than Suhong and held tight onto the handle’s. 

Gang-rim cursed. The man next to him apologized and moved away but that was less his concern.  
What caught him off guard was the firm body his face was pressed into and the one hand clinging painfully into his right shoulder. His arms were still wrapped around Suhong’s body and he realized one of his hands was on his butt that felt…nice. 

Gang-rim cursed again and let go of him as if his hand was on fire, leaning back he noticed Suhong looked down at him with wide eyes, for once without anything annoying coming out of his mouth. 

„Thanks?“  
Suhong mumbled quietly and coughed awkwardly. Gang-rim wanted to look back down but Suhong still stood between his legs and was way too close. And looking down meant looking at his crotch.

The investigator seemed to notice they were awkwardly close and stepped back.

„What happened?“

Suhong turned around and walked down the train in the direction of the driver. Gang-rim stood up and followed him. He put his hand on Suhong’s shoulder and whispered into his ear when he passed him, trying to make it not too obvious.

„Stay back, if any of them is following you you should stay low.“ 

„What do you think you are? A train whisperer or what?“

Suhong acted like he was annoyed by Gang-rim but except that followed Gang-rim’s advice and sat down.

Gang-rim walked down the train to the train operator but before he reached the control cabin, the man already came outside and Gang-rim told him he was from the police and asked him what is going on.

„The energy is down, there had been trains before and behind us I think they went out too otherwise the one behind would have shown up or maybe even hit us already.“

Gang-rim nodded.

„Can we open the doors and let the people out?“ „According to protocol we will wait for thirty minutes and then see what we can do. Normally a team of technicians should be already on it, the system automatically informs them about disturbances. Another team would also come here to help us out. As you are a police officer, maybe you can help me keep the people calm, unfortunately the speaker system does not work either so I have to announce it myself.“

„Sure. I will help you.“

In situations like this, while often enough annoyed of the people being hypnotized by their smartphones, Gang-rim was actually glad they existed and that the phone connection was still functioning.

Everyone simply got themselves distracted with their phones, including himself.

He still had thirty minutes until the movie would start, if the disturbance was cleared within the next ten he could still make it. 

Or this blind date is simply cursed.

Gang-rim sighed and opened his phone to type a message to his blind date and tell him about what was happening now.

„Wow I’ve never thought that you are able to type that fast old man, I’m impressed.“

Gang-rim glared over at Suhong who was leaning against the pole next to him.  
He had offered the seat to a woman and seemed to have decided to get over his boredom by annoying Gang-rim.

The police officer ignored him and sent his text to SourCandy. 

_JB - Please be earnest has someone cursed you? I’m stuck in my train to our date because the energy is gone.-_  
Suhong was about to brag more but stopped himself when his phone chimed. It must have been important because his interest in Gang-rim was instantly gone. Gang-rim first thought it was someone of the gang but when the investigator unlocked it he laughed and he quickly started typing fast.

Gang-rim observed him and wondered who it could be to cause the other to react like that. _Was Suhong dating someone? He would have known about it right?_

„What? Do I have something on my face?“

Suhong finished typing and was looking back at Gang-rim now who had been staring at him.

Gang-rim was about to instinctively answer with an insult but his phone notified him that he got a message. 

SourCandy had answered  
_SC- Why should it be me, maybe it’s you who is cursed? Also seems like both our trains have the same problem. I’m stuck too. Maybe it’s not us but the town that’s cursed-_

Relief washed over the detective, Sour Candy did not seem to be offended by another possible failed date. The chat showed that Sour Candy was typing some more and Gang-rim felt the familiar excitement while waiting for the message.

_SC- We still got a little time, maybe it will work out this time, at least we’re both stuck. Maybe someone hacked the train system. Isn’t that something for you to investigate Mr James Bob?-_

_JB- I knew I should not have told you that story. -_  
„Wow Gang-rim, never have seen you smiling that stupidly, got yourself a girlfriend? Is that the reason you’re looking so dressed up and put on perfume?“

Confused, Gang-rim blinked at the investigator whose voice sounded a little off.

„Perfume?“

„You smell differently?“

_  
Now Gang-rim raised his eyebrow’s, curious about what other things Suhong noticed about him, was he so observant with Haewonmak too?_

_„How do you know how I smell?“  
„I’m a private investigator I notice things even things I don’t want to notice.“_

_Suhong avoided Gang-rim’s piercing glance and checked his phone again. _Am I imagining things or is he blushing?_  
Irked by the others untypical behavior Gang-rim kept observing him.  
_SC- Oh don’t say it I love this one. I’m sure it’s the perfect icebreaker. Also I kind of want to date you at a bar and you to flirt with me like that. I promise I won’t turn you down.-  
JB - Who said I was turned down.  
SC - If you met someone with enough taste to react to it you would not be single now.- __

_Gang-rim could not help but laugh at the last message and he noticed Suhong was staring at him with a shocked expression. The detective sighed annoyed.  
„Yes, I do laugh, you just never give me a reason too.“  
Suhong rolled his eyes. „I never thought you’re unable to, ok maybe I did. But I’m honestly more surprised it is a nice laugh, I always thought it would be so creepy that it makes children cry.“_

_„That? What?“_

_Gang-rim did not know how to react if he should be confused about Suhong calling his laugh a nice one or about the other part._

_„You should do that more, the handsome grumpy look is not for everyone.“_

__Handsome?_  
What was going on with Suhong, is that what happens when they start talking for too long about other things than work? Gang-rim could not help the confused twisted feeling in his chest.  
„Are you sure you’re ok? You keep complimenting me in a weird way.“  
„Am I? Must be that I’m in a good mood.“_

_Suhong looked down at his phone again and smiled._

_When the train was finally back on energy again, the movie had already started and Sour Candy and Gang-rim decided to try again with another date before they would get stuck again in another train or due to whatever else could happen._

_Maybe there date was just not destined to be on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Sunday. (check if that works)_

_-+-+-+-+-_

_Finally the gang decided to go through with the big plan and Gang-rim was glad, because it meant that his work on this tiring case was coming to an end.  
But why did it have to be on the day where his date would be?_

_Gang-rim was still in high hopes that both would work out, though.  
The coup was planned at two am in the morning his date at eight pm, it felt like there is enough time in between. Hopefully also enough time to sleep._

_Well, you could argue that he at least had time to sleep._

_Everything went down when Suhong’s cover was blown._

_It happened while the gang was already in the middle of going through their plan._

_And now Gang-rim was sitting in a pitch-black room who knows where bound and handcuffed and back to back with Suhong, while Haewonmak and every other officer they could activate were hunting the gangsters and their boss whom they had helped to break out of prison._

_Changes were high they would catch them, thanks to Suhong taking the risk to inform them about the plan while in a car full of gangsters.  
Which was by the way also how his cover was blown. You just don’t call anyone while on a mission to free a gangster boss from prison. _

_Never._

_Gang-rim had noticed some of them taking Suhong when shit went down and followed them._

_They surely thought that Suhong was from the police and planned to use him to get their boss out of trouble if the plan failed or simply kill him as a warning for anyone else trying to rat them out.  
It would not only mean that they would lose their private investigator but also make it more complicated to get the ones they caught to speak._

_Additionally to the plan to get them to speak while using their boss as a possible threat was not working anymore when said boss is not in prison._

_Who would have thought this case would take such a fucked upturn in the end. Well, experience had made it predictable but you could dream._

_Gang-rim trusted in Haewonmak to catch the boss and his men, he knew just as much about him as Gang-rim and surely was able to assume the next steps he took. As much as his colleague seemed like a clumsy joke sometimes, Gang-rim knew better, he had a reason he was relatively calm in the situation he was in right now._

_Suhong sighed and leaned his head back against Gang-rim’s shoulder._

_„You know it was really stupid to follow them alone, does Haewonmak even know where you went?“_

_„Had no time to write him a message if you mean that.“_

_Another sigh. „Of course not.“_

_Suhong was quiet for a while, his head a heavy but strangely comfortable weight on Gang-rim’s shoulder. Until the inspector leaned forward and started to wiggle and fondle against Gang-rim’s ass._

_„What are you doing?“_

_Gang-rim shifted away from him when Suhong’s fingers slipped along the waist band of Gang-rim’s pants._

_„Trying to find anything that can get us out of here.“_

_„Don’t you think they would have been smart enough to take everything from us?“„Maybe they forgot something?“_

_„Sure they did.“_

_If they would have been able to see something at least but the room was too dark not even a small line of light that would show them the location of a door._

_„Did they find your tracker?“_

_„I doubt it, I hid it well when I realized they got suspicious, but it won’t be of much help if they were smart enough to interrupt the signal.“_

_„Where did you hide it?“_

_„I swallowed it.“  
„You did what?!“ Gang-rim thought he misheard him for a moment, but then this was Suhong, Suhong would definitely do something like that._

_„I was already sure they would take me away and wanted to preserve my best chance of you guys finding me. Dead or alive.“  
The word dead gave Gang-rim an awfully foul feeling in his stomach. „Don’t joke about that.“  
„I’m not.“_

_Suhong sighed again and leaned back again, he turned his head against Gang-rim’s shoulder and the detective could feel his breath ghosting over the back of his neck._

_„What do you think how late it is by now?“_

_Gang-rim had been wondering about the time for a while now, they had been both knocked out in the car they had them dragged into and were unconscious for who knows how long.  
It could have been minutes or hours until they woke up again already in this room it was hard to get a hold of time with the constant darkness around them but he assumed they had been awake for about three hours now.  
His head still felt a little dizzy and his mouth was dry and he was thirsty like he had not been drinking for a day._

_„It is probably afternoon by now.“  
„Yeah, I think so too. Too bad, seems like my date is going to fail again. Maybe I’m really cursed.“_

_Suhong laughed but Gang-rim felt strange all of a sudden, his mouth going dry he croaked „What did you say?“  
The investigator turned his head again and explained._

_„It’s just I’ve been having a string of dates that are failing and last time my date asked me if I’m cursed and slowly I start to think I am.“_

_Gang-rim’s heart started to beat rapidly all of a sudden and he heard his pulse loud in his ears while Suhong continued, „Too bad he was really great to chat with and now I might never get the chance to meet him in person.“_

__Oh._ _

_The gears in Gang-rim’s head started to click into each other._

__  
Suhong stumbling into him outside of the museum, seeming upset and the orange peeking out from under his jacket when he passed Gang-rim._ _

__Sour Candy writing him he could not come, because of work just when Gang-rim wanted to write him the same because he had to stay in the office if something happens._ _

__The message Gang-rim had sent Sour Candy asking if he was cursed.  
Suhong smiling at his phone and writing something and Sour Candy’s messages arriving after the investigator looked back up again. _ _

_„…rim. Gang-rim?“ Sunhong was wiggling and trying to tackle him with his elbows and Gang-rim realized he had been talking to him all the time._

_„Huh?“ the detective hummed absentmindedly was still processing the very likely fact of Suhong being Sour Candy._

_„I kept talking to you but you zoned out. I already panicked that you died.“_

_„Would you mind that?“ Gang-rim questioned quietly while wondering how he did not have noticed after the second failed date already, because why else should Suhong be around that area and wear something orange?  
What would the investigator think? SourCandy clearly liked him but Suhong?  
Gang-rim could not remember any day they were not fighting with each other._

_But he could not help it, the way Suhong was acting had irked something deep within Gang-rim from the beginning. How his eyes fixed Gang-rim when they were talking the way his annoying wild mess of hair had fallen in his eyes all the time, causing the detective to want to grip it and pull it back or cut it. He had imagined it sometimes, including Suhong’s surprised gasp.  
The inspector had raised his eyebrows at him then as if he could read on his face that his thoughts were trailing away. _

_At least his hair is not a mess anymore now._

_Suhong’s buffled voice ripped Gang-rim out of his racing thoughts._

_„What? Do you really think it would not affect me if you die? We might have our arguments sometimes because you’re an old grump who is way too earnest and needs to loosen up but except that I respect you as a detective. Besides, you saved my ass twice already before.“_

_„Twice?“_

_Gang-rim could only remember one time, when Suhong was caught and beaten up because someone noticed him wearing a bug.  
He still saw the other’s beaten up face in front of his inner eye occasionally. _

_Suhong had lost consciousness in the ambulance but his hand had clutched onto Gang-rim’s sleeve until the detective had to leave his side for the CT._

_„Yeah, during our second case together and years back. You were the police officer that let me go, when I was younger and got involved into a big heist. I had wrong friends. They told me to wait outside a door and call if I see anyone coming. Suddenly the alarms go off and they run out with a lot of jewels. You believed me that I was clueless and let me go.“_

_„I did?“ Gang-rim tried to remember Suhong but it was hard with all the thoughts his brain was overflowed with right now._

_„I was head over heels, when Yeomra told me the detective I will be working with is you. And then you were totally hostile the moment I stepped in. Crushed my poor sensible heart there.“ Suhong sounded earnestly sad but laughed to cover it up and made his voice sound extra tragic at the end as if he was joking but Gang-rim felt there was more to it.  
He suddenly felt sorry now, for how he had acted back then. Maybe it was a bad excuse but he had had a reason back then._

_„I thought you were just another one of these shady investigators our last one got us in a lot of trouble and we not only lost the case but almost our jobs.“  
_And more…  
Gang-rim thought back at Haewonmak lying on the floor in his own blood sipping out of a bullet wound on his side. The blinking light in the waiting room. The steady beeping of the machines._  
The guy back then had been the worst asshole, totally fucking up and take a run on them, giving the gangsters the position of Gang-rim and his team in exchange. Gang-rim had an argument with Yeomra about never working with a private investigator again.  
But Yeomra already had someone else in mind._

_„Yeomra told me about that. I swore to myself I would be better but look where we are now.“_

_„It’s not your fault.“  
Suhong sighed and Gang-rim felt his hair tickling his neck when he leaned back too. The investigator shifted a little and his fingers brushed along Gang-rim’s, causing a soft tickle in the detective's fingertips. _

_„Ah my shoulders hurt. Are your hands bound so tight too? I think they used cable binders, too bad I would have known how to get out of handcuffs.“_

__-I like handcuffs.-_ _

_Gang-rim remembered Sour Candy’s message, knowing it was Suhong he could not help but imagine him grinning smugly at him while being handcuffed._

__Would have been an quite nice sight._ _

_„Tell me about your date.“ Gang-rim leaned his head against Suhongs and closed his eyes. Not that it made any difference with the darkness surrounding them but it helped to hear the other’s voice better._

_„Hmm. We’ve been writing for about three weeks now. He is working a lot so mostly in his breaks and when he gets home. We had four failed dates already, the first one he got stuck at work, the second we planned badly, I ran into you that night, by the way, it was the reason I was at the museum, third date was when I was doing an undercover coup with the gang, fourth was when we got stuck in the trains because the energy went out.“_

_Gang-rim scoffed at that, still not believing that he had not connected the dots then. Because it had been obvious, really._

_„Do you like him?“_

_„Yes, it might sound stupid to you because I have not met him yet but his texts always make me smile. Strangely after each failed date, I started to like him even more. Sure, it was stupid to set up dates while being undercover and you are right when you scold me for that but I really wanted to meet him since he reacted to my stupid pickup line.“_

_Gang-rim smiled to himself when he remembered Suhong’s pickup line. Thinking about it now he could have known that there could only be one guy in this city that would choose something stupid like this._

__And I am the only other stupid idiot who reacts to it._ _

_„What was your pickup line?“_

_The detective simply wanted to hear Suhong say it in case they would not get out of this he at least could have that._

_„You will only think it’s stupid and think I’m awkward.“_

_„I already think you’re awkward, can’t get any worse.“_

_„Thanks, I think you’re grumpy and always in a bad mood.“ Suhong mumbled a little offended but gave in. „I’ll tell you, but only because we are stuck here and I have nothing better to do than talk to you and having a surprisingly nice conversation.“  
Suhong made a pause and Gang-rim was patiently waiting for his line. „Oh and my line only makes sense with my username which Sour Candy.“ _

_Gang-rim mouthed the name with his lips while Suhong said them and was shocked again about his own dampness to not find out earlier. i >At least I found out before he did but how will he react when he does, will he be very disappointed?_

Surprisingly for himself, Gang-rim was not.

„So, my pickup line was but first don’t laugh, well no you can laugh but not laugh at me for being stupid ah you know what I mean.“

„Not really,“ Gang-rim stated dryly, „but I promise you I won’t judge you this time.“

„This time huh? Does this mean you’re judging me normally?“

„Always. There is not a day I haven’t since I met you.“ 

„Wow. I might not tell you know.“

„Come on, I promise I’ll tell you an embarrassing story about myself if you do.“  
Gang-rim tried to nudge Suhong by moving his shoulder back against him and brush over his fingers.  
Suhong caught Gang-rim’s finger instead and sighed theatrically.

„Fine. So my name is SourCandy and my pick up line was: I might sound sour but you can be sure I’ll make your mouth water.“

Despite already knowing it very well, Gang-rim could not hold back the laugh, it sounded even worse when Suhong was saying it.

„Ok which kind of laugh is this because if it’s the wrong one I have to hurt you.“

„It’s the I can’t believe I find this funny laugh.“

„Are you making fun of me?“

„No.“  
„Seriously?“

„Seriously.“

„Sooo, what is your embarrassing story?“

Gang-rim, did not say anything at first because he thought of the bar story and as soon as he told it, Suhong would know and the problem was the detective did not know how he would react.

Would he be crushed to find out that his blind date was Gang-rim?

„Gang-rim? You know you promised right? You cannot not tell me know. That would be too shitty and against the rules and you’re too strict to break the rules.“  
The detective scoffed. 

„I know, give me a moment. I’m not going to break my promise.“

„Yeah take your time I won’t run away.“ Suhong, and his bad jokes. 

„I went out drinking with colleagues.“ 

Before Gang-rim could continue Suhong interrupted him with his typical sarcasm, that Gang-rim knew too well by now, „Wait you drink, don’t tell me next you even had fun?“

„You want to hear it or not?“

„Yes, sorry, sorry, go on go on.“  
„So, that day I drank way too much, work had been tiring and the thought of going back to an empty apartment was not very appealing and before I knew it I was really drunk and I decided I wanted to end my loneliness and get find the ideal partner for the rest of my life.“

Suhong laughed. „At a bar, while being totally drunk?“

„Yes, I thought it was the best idea I ever had. So I went over to the bar.“

„No stumbling?“

„Maybe I stumbled over to the bar and there was this person, I can’t even tell you now if it was a woman or a man, to be honest. And I walked over to them tried to look charming-„

Suhong stopped laughing and mumbled, „Good think that’s something you don’t need much effort for.“

„Hmm?“ Gang-rim was not sure if he had heard him right or was just imagining things out of pure desperation.

As much as he wanted to fight it, the moment he found out Suhong was Sour Candy he started to see the connection and also the things that were not annoying about Suhong. In fact even some of the annoying things were suddenly less bad?

„Nothing, just go on.“

„I don’t even know if they looked at me but I raised a glass I found on the counter and said Hi, my name is—-„  
A loud thud interrupted Gang-rim and he tried to see anything in the direction it came from.  
Another one followed and another, sounding like something heavy was hit against a very sturdy door.

Gang-rim gripped Suhong’s hands absentmindedly and stared in the direction of the sounds. He could clearly see that something was giving in because on the edges was light coming through every time the loud thud was heard.

„If it would be someone from Un’s men they would have keys right?“  
Suhong asked and Gang-rim confirmed.

„Yes, they should have keys. This door sounds heavy.“

„It does.“

Gang-rim had a nervous feeling in his belly what would happen if the door fell on them.

„We should get up and stand in one of the corners if there is one.“  
„Yeah, you’re right. On three, we press against each other’s backs and stand up.“

Surprisingly they made it at the first try and just in time for the door to fall inside, at the spot they were just sitting on. 

Both looked up and saw the unmistakable silhouette of Haewonmak’s spiky hair. He stormed over to them and blended them with the brightest flashlight Gang-rim ever looked into, making searing blank pain shoot through the detective’s eyeballs right into his brain. _So that’s what a knife in your eyes felt like_ , Gang-rim was sure there was no difference.

Suhong behind him made a whimpering sound and seemed to suffer the same fate.  
They found out later that the flashlights were already tuned down ones but after being in the dark for hours they seemed like spotlights.

Haewonmak and another police officer cut the rope around them open and then carefully the cable binder’s around their wrists. 

Gang-rim moaned with the pain searing through his shoulders when he finally could move them again and he looked over to Suhong who was rubbing them too.

„Come, let’s get you two out of here and checked.“

Gang-rim let himself be guided by Haewonmak and reached for Suhong, still too sensitive to any source of light he mostly cast his eyes down and concentred on not tripping on the uneven ground and the smaller hand of the man behind him in his.

Outside was it was dark luckily, but the lights of the cars that lightened up the area where awfully bright and Gang-rim covered his eyes. 

They were both checked in an ambulance and Haewonmak explained meanwhile that they got Un and his man and that as soon as they had them, they realized that Gang-rim and Suhong were gone.

Un’s men gave them an ultimatum. 

Gang-rim was about to wash Haewonmak’s head to make negotiations with them but Haewonmak silenced him with his hand in the air, and only his following words saved him from a lecture about proper behavior towards superiors.

„We did not negotiate we found you because of the last location of Suhong’s tracker before the signal was lost. Deouk-chun remembered that there was an old industrial property close to that around that area that belonged to Un so we had a good idea where to look for you. I was surprised they were too stupid to take the tracker, to be honest.“

„He swallowed it.“ Gang-rim noted dryly and Haewonmak looked at Suhong with wide eyes who only shrugged his shoulders.  
„It was well isolated and it saved us, right? And it was not too big after all, should be fine.“

After a quick checkup in the hospital, both of them were finally released and as soon as Gang-rim arrived at home he fell onto his bed, still fully dressed in his dust-covered clothes. He was about to fall asleep when his phone chimed.

Thinking it was SourCandy he was surprised when the first message that showed up was from Suhong’s phone.

_SH - You still owe me the rest of your story. -_

Gang-rim smiled and rolled to the side to be able to answer it better.

_GR - Next time. -_

_SH - I’m sorry it was nice but I really don’t want to get trapped in a dark room again. -_

_GR - Your bad. I thought it was quite comfortable. -_

_SH - Gang-rim are you joking? I think you need to go back to hospital, your head got hit too hard.-_

_GR - Shut up and sleep, Suhong.-_

Smiling Gang-rim put his phone to the side and closed his eyes when another notification sounded. 

SourCandy.

_SC - Sorry about not writing and showing up again. I got stuck at work, quite literally. -_

Interesting that Suhong wrote him first and then James Bob, Gang-rim tried not to interpret too much into that and typed his answer sluggishly, having to retry a few times because his phone kept slipping out of his hand.

_JB - Don’t worry, I had quite a day at work too. -_

_Also I really am sure the next date will work out and that’s why, do you have time tomorrow, for lunch? -_

Gang-rim stared at his phone until his eyes unfocused and the screen got blurry.

_Should I say yes? Would it be better to just stop writing with him or to just go there and let him see he was his blind date all the time?_

Gang-rim thought back to Suhong talking about his date and sighed, it would be too mean to simply end it.  
Suhong would be crushed. 

Also Gang-rim was too tired for making such important decisions right now, he could still chicken out tomorrow.

_JB - Lunch sounds great. Where do you want to meat? -_

_SC - Min’s Specialities, 1 pm -_

Gang-rim had to look twice at the message.

Suhong had sent an address too and he was even more surprised, it was really the restaurant right around the corner. But then Suhong had told him that he lived nearby.

He quickly answered with a thumbs-up smiley and fell asleep with his phone in his hands.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Gang-rim slept through until his phone chimed and woke him up around lunchtime. He had fallen asleep without even setting a timer, good thing Sour Candy wrote him a message.

_SC - what do you want to wear to recognize each other? I like to avoid the orange shirt, it did not really bring us luck. -_

_JB - Don’t worry. I will recognize you. -_

_SC - If you say so Mr. Bob. See you in an hour. -_

Groaning Gang-rim sat up and made his way to the bath to take a cold shower and hopefully wake up.

One hour later Gang-rim was standing in front of ‚Min’s’ heart beating faster than on his first day of school and his palms sweaty. He brushed them off against his pants and entered the restaurant. It was small and cozy and the smell of traditional Japchae was hanging in the air. 

All of the six tables were occupied including the 5 extra seats on the bar. 

Nervously the detective scanned the room until his eyes met a familiar mob of hair. Gang-rim was wondering why Suhong would sit with his back to the door, he remembered having a discussion with him once that the detective could not relax anywhere with his back to the door. Suhong, stating he always needed to have the possibility to watch the room, being a inspector and all, would not budge though so they ended up shoulder pressed to shoulder on the small bench, elbowing and insulting each other. Or causing the other to spill their drink.

Gang-rim had to admit it was still one of the most fun nights he had.

Taking a deep breath he started walking towards him, the steady thudding of his pulse loud in his ear. 

Suhong looked up when he was passing him, if he was surprised he did not show, he only scoffed out a quick laugh for a moment and then watched Gang-rim sit down, his eyes boring through him as if he was waiting for something.

„Hi.“ Gang-rim tried to let his voice sound way more relaxed and casual than he felt. „I’m Bob, James Bob.“

Suhong grinned, looked down at the table and then back up at him, chuckling. 

„Hi Bob, I know it’s a little bit early for that but I had a rough week, how about some drink, shaken not stirred?“

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! :D


End file.
